Charles I of England attempted to rule with impunity, jailing his enemies and critics, taxing his subjects
without their consent and clashing with Parliament in a fight for supremacy. Further, he sought to quell the
attempts of Puritans to meddle in the Anglican Church. He encouraged the Archbishop of Canterbury,
William Laud, in his endeavors to crush resistance to the Anglican Church and its practices. In 1642, civil
war broke out between the royalist faction, called Cavaliers, and the parliamentary forces, called
Roundheads. Many of the Roundheads were Puritans, while the Cavaliers were predominantly Anglican.
With Oliver Cromwell as their leader, the Roundheads emerged victorious in 1648. The king was
beheaded in 1649, and Parliament initially attempted to rule on its own. Chaos threatened, however, and
Parliament named Cromwell Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland in
1653. Stability was once again threatened when Cromwell died in 1658, and a rudderless England was
eventually restored to a monarchy under Charles II. Charles II's restoration also returned the Cavaliers
to power, along with the Anglican Church.

While England was preoccupied, the colonies were left much to their own devices. Military protection
from England was sorely lacking during this time of turmoil. In 1643, in the midst of the civil war back in
England, four largely Puritan colonies created the New England Confederation for the purpose of
cooperation and mutual protection against Indian attack. Each member had two votes. Membership
included the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven. Rhode Island tried top join but
was refused on the basis of the long-running antagonism between its freethinkers and the Puritans. The
Confederation members agreed to jointly finance warfare, provide soldiers in proportion to population,
and make no treaties without mutual consent. This was the first confederation of colonies in English North
America, and the only successful one before the Revolutionary period.

The ascension of Charles II also led to a new wave of colonization. Charles II was heavily in debt when
he became king, and he rewarded many of his supporters with land in North America to satisfy their claims
against him. The colonies that were established were therefore called Restoration Colonies, since they
were created as a result of the Restoration of the English monarchy. Carolina, which actually became two
colonies, was named after Charles II. Control of Carolina was granted to eight proprietors who were
supporters of the king. New York and New Jersey, formerly comprising New Netherlands, were created
when Charles's brother, the Duke of York, was granted the area by the king and drove the Dutch from the
area. Thus, English possessions briefly grew independent during the civil war and then grew larger during
the Restoration.

The monarchy determined to exercise more control over its overseas possessions, however. Charles II
revoked the charter of the Bay Colony in 1684. Charles died in 1685, and he was succeeded by his
brother James II. He revoked the charter of the New England, New York, and New Jersey colonies,
and from them created the Dominion of New England in 1686. The Dominion was imposed upon the
colonies of New England
by the king and was under royal control, with the king appointing Sir Edmund Andros as the royal
governor. The Dominion usurped the Confederation's attempts to provide a common defense against
Indian attack. Further, the Dominion was intended to enforce the Navigation Acts of 1651, 1660,1663,
and 1673, which sought to force all colonies to trade only with England. During the time that England had
benignly neglected its colonies, trade between the Americans and other nation, particularly the Dutch, had
blossomed. Both king and Parliament wanted England to be the sole beneficiary of the growing economic
might of the colonies. The Navigation Acts were attempts to accomplish this feat. Under this legislation,
goods from other countries bound for America had to first be shipped to England, and English merchants
who acted as middlemen then sent the goods to America after raising prices to make a profit. Likewise,
major American exports such as cotton, tobacco, and sugar, could only be shipped to England, where
English merchants would them re-export them to other countries.

Another dramatic shift occurred in 1688. The Glorious Revolution once again stripped a king of his power
at the hands of Parliament, but this time without bloodshed. James's daughter Mary and her Dutch
husband, William of Orange were placed on the throne. They agreed to a bill of Rights, consultation with
Parliament on an annual basis, and to respect civil liberties. Thus, England was transformed into a hybrid
called a constitutional monarchy.

The transition in America was not so peaceful. The colonists in the Dominion of New England turned on
Governor Andros, who unsuccessfully attempted to escape from an angry mob dressed as a woman.
German and Dutch residents in New York seized control of the city and called for a new legislature. In
Maryland, a group called the Protestant Association attempted to overthrow the control of the Catholic
Calvert family. William and Mary's response to these challenges to authority was measured. Although the
leader of the New York uprising was eventually executed, the Dominion of New England was abolished,
and the proprietary rule of the Calverts was ended in Maryland. However, the truculent colonists were not
completely let off the hook, because Massachusetts, New York, and Maryland were converted into royal
colonies with governors appointed by the crown. It was thus hoped that the colonies could be brought
more firmly into line.